Pittsburgh should give a warm welcome to Steven E. Sokol, the new president and CEO of its chapter of the World Affairs Council.

Mr. Sokol comes from a senior position at The American Council on Germany, based in New York. He succeeds Schuyler Foerster, who led the council with great distinction and activism for 13 years before moving on to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

The World Affairs Council in Pittsburgh is the front line in the ongoing battle to raise southwestern Pennsylvanians' knowledge of and involvement in international affairs. The impact of the foreign-based companies here and the number of people they employ, plus the importance of foreign trade and investment on the region's economy, are reason for that work to be pursued diligently. That is apart from the rich immigrant heritage that characterizes southwestern Pennsylvania and is one of the reasons people here continue to reach out to the rest of the world.

The epitome of this was expressed in the choice by President Barack Obama of Pittsburgh for last year's G-20 summit and the warm welcome extended by local residents to the heads of state and their delegations.

The council believes in "getting them young" and much of its programming is directed at the young people of the region, especially students in secondary schools and their teachers.

The choice by the World Affairs Council of this very capable successor to Sky Foerster was of primordial importance. Mr. Sokol has rich experience in the non-profit world and in foreign affairs. Pittsburgh looks forward to his leadership in this key position.

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